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'You grow and develop. He's done that' - Hansen
By Ben Spratt
New Zealand boss Steve Hansen is wary of the threat posed by Argentina under the leadership of former Australia forwards coach Mario Ledesma.
Ledesma was appointed the new Pumas boss last month after impressing in his brief first stint as a head coach with Jaguares, but the ex-international hooker previously served on Michael Cheika's staff with the Wallabies.
And after a bright start with Argentina, winning and losing a game apiece against South Africa, Hansen has already identified ways in which Ledesma's experience has helped him to improve the Pumas.
"I think [Ledesma's] time with Australia will have broadened how he thinks about the game," Hansen said. "It's no different to any of us if we get outside our comfort zone, outside of our own national way of playing.
"You grow and develop. He's done that, taken it back to Argentina and got pretty good results so far.
"They like to play it up the middle but they now look like they want to use the backs. Their backs are big and fast, so it is going to be a good contest."
The All Blacks face Argentina in Nelson on Saturday in their latest Rugby Championship fixture.
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Latest Comments
Liverpool? OK, whatever you say 🤷♂️ You spelt Syringeboks wrong, need to calm down a bit and wipe the tears from your eyes.
Go to commentsThat absolute BS, when did you come up with this idea?
All three were well on track to being All Blacks. They simply decided it was smarter to take the money right now rather than slog on for another 3 or 4 years waiting for their opportunity to line up.
Many AB quality players have not even got the chance to earn a cap for heavens sake, it is simply as you suggest elsewhere, better utilization of global talent to have them qualify for another nation.
The only problem is that the ABs get all the best players, mostly because they pay more, and the island nations, even the home nations, just get those that can't make it or want a bit more limelight.
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